Stoker and support therefor



Aug. 17, 1943. E. MARTIN STOKEb'. A ND SUPPORT THEREFOR 'Filed Jan. 1,1942 Patented Aug. 17, 1943 Eugene` Martin, Erie, Ija., assigner toTheStandard Stoker Company, Incorporated, a corporation of DelawareApplication January 1, 1942, Serial No1 425,351

7 Claims.

This invention relates to stel-:fers for intercoupled locomotivesandrtenders including a system of conduits and conveyors extending frombeneath the tender' fuel bin to the firing' opening of the locomotiveflr'e'boxr Provision is made inV an intercoupled locomotive and tenderfor relative; movement therebetween as they travel on cintres,cross-overs and turntables, and since a portion of the Stoker extendsrearwardly in thetender and a portion extendsforwardly in the locomotivaexibility in the conduit and con-fY veyor system of the s-toker mustalso be provided for. in the rigid trough type of stoker, wherethetrough or rear conduit is rigidly mount-cd on the tender, exibilityisprovided for' by a pair of longitudinally spaced universal connectionsin the conduit system. Inthe swinging trough type of stolzer, where thetrough or rear conduit is rnovably moimted' in the tender, only a singleuniversal connection in they conduit system is essential to providefor'neeessary flexibility; The present invention relates tothe latter orswinging trough type of Stoker".

Itis ariobie'etL of Vvthe invention to provide an improved Stoker andmounting arrangement of the type described, that is simple inconstruction, cheap to manufacture and conveniently installed. v

important consideration in stolrers-y of this lettertype is theprovision of practical and efl'- oi'ent supporting means for the movabletrough or rear conduit section. It is, therefore, another object of thepresent invention to provideV in stolrers of this type, supportingine-ans that is simple in construction, and that rrnly supports" the.movable conduit section while permitting' free movement thereof aboutavertical' and a horizontal axis as relative movement' between lthelocomotive and tender occurs.

Another object ofV the invention is to provide supporting means for themovable trough or rear' conduit section that will minimize strains cnthe locomotive' backhead and the flexible connection in the condiiitYsystem' due to the' thrust and' pull of the' movable trough instopping'and starting the locomotive, While at the same time providing ther-ieces'saryV flexibilitytheconduit system must' have because of therelative movement between` locomotive and tender.

Further objects; andadva-ntages of the invention reside in the novel!construction of parts and the novel combination and relation of?elem-ents, all as: brought' out in the following description and the:mperidedr claims and; shown in the ac companying drawing,inf` which`Fig. l is a vertical lonitudinal central section of adjacent ends of alocomotive and tender with the invention embodied therein and shownpartly in similar section and. partly in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on' the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

ligl 3 is a sectional view taken oni the line 3&3 of Fig. l; and

4 is a fragmentary view of the rear portion' of the locomotive showing amo'dication of the stel/rer' supporting arrangementr Referring'- now toFigs. 1, 2 and 3,. illustrating one embodiment of' the ii-iverition, thelocomotive is indicated by the letter L and comprises a frame iii' uponwliilcl'iv the boiler backliead Il is supported by means of anexpansion. plate l2.I A` deelt is extends rearwardly from the backheadvIl betieatli the level of thefiring opening i@ the baclilead H.V Coupledto the locomotive the conventional manner, as at C', is a tender havinga fuebin l5 above the apertured floor I6.

VAV stolzer indicated by the letter .transfers fuel from the fuel bin l5to' the iiring opening l4 and includes a discharge conduit or boxit anda transfer' conduit Vl, the latterl cofiipri'sin'g.

the telescopica-,Hy connected trough or rear con-- duit-section i8. andforward conduitsect'ion lf. The normally-horizontally" extending' troughor rear conduitsection l@ comprises an open mouthtrough 2l, arranged toreceive; fue-1l from the bin 5 tif-rough the opening Z2, and a tubular'portion t` communicating with and' extending forwardly of' thetrougli2l.

The forward' conduit-section l-9 is formed with abend intermediate itsends, the portion rearward of' the teleseoping the tubularconduitporton- 2'3* and tlie portion forward ofthe ben-d extendingonward-ly and forwardly through the cab deckv ll to'J the discharge box2li. The dis-m chargebox` 226 surrounds the firing openingv irl and isrigidly secured, anyfsuitalale manner, to the backheadlll. Itis providedwith a spheri-l cal concave fragmento-l conduit portion- 2li' at itslower side to receive the hollow spherical portion f5 ofthe forwardconduit section iii-l', forming therewith a universal connection.

Coal istransferred through the transfer conA-v duit IT to the dischargebox 2tl by screw conveying means including a screw conveyor 2t disposedinthe trough'or rear conduit' section l8`` and' a screw conveyor* 2Tdisposed in' ,the upwardly and' forwardlyextending portion' oftheforward con# duit section f5. The fuel delivered by tllei screwconveying' system i's received Vby suitable dis# ment thereof withrespect to the tender, and forV lateral swinging movement thereof abouta vertical axis and vertical swinging movement thereof about atransverse horizontal axis when relative movement between the locomotiveand tender occurs, as in rounding curves or passing over switches andturntables. This mounting arrangement comprises rollers .'iil suitablyattached to the trough portion 2l of the rear conduit section I8 andarranged to move n suitable tracks 3 i.

The tubular conduit portion 23 is provided with a foot pad 32 to whichis rigidly secured one end of a tie rod or brace 33. The tie rod 33comprises a longitudinally extending bar 3ft having at its rearward enda horizontal fiange 35 fitting against the foot pad 32 and to which itis rigidly secured by suitable means, as by the bolts and nuts 36. Theforward end of the barv 3ftY is provided with a boss 37 having anopening 33 therethrough in which is loosely received the threadedprojection 39 of the ballmember ft2. The nut lil and lock nut 42threaded on the threaded projection 39 at opposite sides of the boss 31,rigidly secures the ball member lili to the brace 33. rfhe ball memberdi! is received in the spherical seat 43 of the bracket fifi andtheclamp prevents disengagement of the ball member fail from the seat 43but permits universal movement of the tie rod 'about its forward end.rIhe bracket Q1. may be rigidly secured to the expansion plate I2, asshown in Fig. l, or to the frame l@ as shown in Fig. 4.

The bracket dei is so disposed that the center of the ball member 4i) isbelow butV in vertical alinement with the centerof the ball jointbetween the forward conduit section IS `and the concave portion 24 ofthe discharge box 2li. This permits lateral swinging movement of the tierod 33 and the transfer conduit I'I as a unit about a vertical axis asrelative lateral movement between the locomotive and tender occurs whentraveling over curving tracks. While providing for such movement, thetie rod 33 at the same time rmly maintains the rear conduit section I8in a normally horizontal position, supporting the overh'anging weight ofthe trough or rear conduit section I8 when the rollers 3i! aredisposedrearward of the center of gravity and preventing the forward endof the trough or rear conduit section I8 from tilting upwardly when therollers 3&3 are disposed forward of the center of gravity. It is alsoapparent, since the rearward end of the forward conduit section i9 iscarried by the rear conduit section IS, that the tie rod 33 acts as asupporting medium for a portion of the weight of the forward conduitsection I, thereby relieving the backhead i I of a further portion ofthe weight of the stoker and prevents binding between the telescopicallyjoined ends of the conduit sections I8 and I9.

When relative vertical movement between the locomotive and tenderoccurs, as in passing over switches and turntables, the rear conduitsection I8 swings in a vertical plane about the axis of the ball member@du while the forward conduit section I9 swings in a vertical planeabout the axis of the ball joint between the forward conduit section I9and the concave portion 24 of the discharge box 20. The slight relativelongitudinal movement between the forward and rear conduit sections I9and IS, due to the difference in vertical swing about their verticallyoffset axes, is provided for by the telescopic relation of theiradjacent ends.

The present construction and arrangement of parts minimizes strains onthe flexible connection in the conduit system and the strains on thelocomotive backhead when starting and stopping the locomotive. Whenstopping the locomotive, the rear conduit section of the stolzer, sinceit is movably mounted on the tender, has a forward thrust due to itsinertia and when starting exerts 'a pull, which unless otherwise takencare of is transmitted to the exible connection in the conduit systemand the locomotive backhead. In the present construction these strainsare transmitted by the tie rod 33 to the expansion plate I2, when thebracket i4 is secured to the expansion plate I2 as shown in Fig. l, andto the frame Iii, when the bracket ifi is secured to the frame Iii asshown in Fig. 4. This is accomplished without sacrificing the necessaryflexibility the stocker must have because of the relative movementbetween locomotive and tender.

Minor adjustments in the positioning of the double universal joint 23are readily made by threading nut lli and lock nut l2 farther forward orrearward on the threaded projection 39 of the ball member It isdesirable to have the uni- Y versal joint 23 centralized in the bend inforward conduit section I and by the present adjustment arrangement suchpositioning is assured.

I claim:

1. In an intercoupled locomotive and tender, the combination of a fueltransfer conduit extending forwardly from the tender to the locomotiveand comprising a rear conduit section movably mounted and supported onthe-tender and a front conduit section supported at its forward end onthe locomotive, said conduit sections being telescopically connected attheir adjacent ends, and

means carried by the locomotive for additionally supporting said conduitsections, said means having a rigid connection with said rear conduitsection and a pivotal connection with the locomotive, said pivotalconnection having no physical connection with said front conduitsection.

2. In an intercoupled locomotive and tender, the combination of a fueltransfer conduit extending forwardly from the tender to the locomotiveand comprising a rear conduit section movably mounted and supported onthe tender and a front conduit section having a universal connection atits forward end forrpendulously supporting said front conduit section onthe locomotive,

said conduit sections being telescopically connected at their adjacentends, and means carried by the locomotive for additionally supportingsaid conduit sections, said means having a rigid connection with saidrear conduit section and a pivotal connection with the locomotive, theaxis of said pivotal connection being in vertical alinement with theaxis of said universal connection, said pivotal connection having nophysical connection with said front conduit section.

3. In an intercoupled locomotive and tender, the combination of a fueltransfer conduit extending forwardly from the tender to the locomotiveand comprising a rear conduit section movably mounted and supported onthe tender and a front conduit section pendulously supported at itsforward end on the locomotive, said conduit sections beingtelescopically connected at their adjacent ends, and means carried bythe locomotive for additionally supporting said conduit sections, saidmeans having a rigid connection with said rear conduit section forwardof its first named support and a pivotal connection with the locomotive,said pivotal connection having no physical connection with said frontconduit section.

4. In an intercoupled locomotive and tender, the combination of a fueltransfer conduit extending forwardly from the tender to the locomotiveand comprising a rear conduit section movably mounted and supported onthe tender and a front conduit section pendulously supported at itsforward end on thelocomotive, said conduit sections being telescopicallyconnected at their adjacent ends, and means carried by the locomotivefor additionally supporting said conduit sections, said means having arigid connection with said rear conduit section forward of its firstnamed support and a pivotal connection with the locomotive, the` axis ofsaid pivotal connection being in vertical alinement with the axis ofsaid pendulous support, said pivotal connection having no physicalconnection with said front conduit section.

5. In an intercoupled locomotive and tenderf ing said rear conduitsection fore and aft to any one of a number of positions. 7

6. In an intercoupled locomotive and tender, the combination of a fueltransfer conduit extending forwardly from the tender to the locomotiveand comprising a rear conduit section movably mounted and supported onthe tender and a front conduit Vsection having a universal connection atits forward end for pendulously supporting said front conduit section onthe locomotive, said conduit sections being telescopically connected attheir adjacent ends, and means carried by the locomotive foradditionally supporting said conduit sections, said means having a rigidconnection with said rear conduit section and a pivotal connection withvthe locomotive,` the axis of said pivotal connection being in verticalalinement with the axis of said universal connection, and adjustingmeans associated with said additional supporting means for moving saidrear conduit section fore and aft to any one of a number of positions.

'7. InV an intercoupled locomotive andstender, a fuel transfer conduitextending forwardly from the tender tothe locomotive and comprising arear conduit section Vmovably mounted and supported on the tender, saidmounting and support beingarranged for pivotal movement of said rearconduit section 4about a vhorizontal transverse axis, said fuel transferconduit also comprising a front conduit section having a universalconnection at its forward end for pendulously supporting said frontconduit section on the locomo- Vtive, said conduit sections beingtelescopically connected at their adjacent ends, and means carried bythe locomotive for additionally supporting said conduit sections, saidmeans having a rigid connection with said rear conduit section forwardof its rst named support and a pivotal connection with the locomotive,said pivotal connection having 'no physical connection with said frontconduit section. Y EUGENE MARTIN.

